Most of Phoenix's best Sunday brunches are to be had at restaurants in major hotels and resorts. Among the finest are those served at Marquesa (at the Scottsdale Princess), T. Cook's, the Golden Swan (at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale), Wright's (at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa), the Terrace Dining Room (at the Phoenician), and Top of the Rock (at The Buttes). However, for a unique experience, make a brunch reservation at The Wrigley Mansion Club, 2501 E. Telawa Trail (tel. 602/955-4079 or 602/553-7387), a historic mansion now owned by Geordie Hormel (of the Spam-making family). Don't worry, the food is great.

The Desert Botanical Garden, 1201 N. Galvin Pkwy., in Papago Park (tel. 480/941-1225; www.dbg.org), serves brunch with its Music in the Garden concerts held on Sunday from September to March. Tickets are $14 and include admission to the gardens, but meals cost extra.

If your idea of the perfect breakfast is a buttery brioche and a good cup of coffee, try Pierre's Pastry Café, 7119 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale (tel. 480/443-2510); desserts here are also irresistible. Along Camelback Road, in the Biltmore Plaza shopping center, try La Madeleine, 3102 E. Camelback Rd. (tel. 602/952-0349), the place for a leisurely French breakfast amid antique farm implements. Other branches are at Fashion Square Mall, 7014 E. Camelback Rd., Scottsdale (tel. 480/945-1663), and at 7014 N. Tatum Blvd. at Shea Blvd. in Paradise Valley (tel. 480/483-0730).

For smoothies, muffins, and healthy things, try Wild Oats Community Market, which has stores at 3933 E. Camelback Rd. at 40th Street (tel. 602/954-0584), in North Phoenix at 13823 N. Tatum Blvd. at Thunderbird Road (tel. 602/953-7546), and in Scottsdale at 7129 E. Shea Blvd. at Scottsdale Road (tel. 480/905-1441).

Perhaps it's the heat or the sunshine, but espresso is not the ubiquitous drink here in Phoenix that it is in many other parts of the country. However, there are still plenty of places to get a good latte or cappuccino. In Old Town Scottsdale, try Desert Grind, 7373 E. Scottsdale Mall no. 8 (tel. 480/424-7678). Not too far away, you'll find fresh-roasted coffee at The Village Coffee Roastery, 8120 N. Hayden Rd., Suite E-104 (tel. 480/905-0881). Heading north up Scottsdale Road, try Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, in the Shops at Gainey Village, 8877 N. Scottsdale Rd. (tel. 480/315-9335).

Along the Camelback Corridor, there's Hava Java, 3166 E. Camelback Rd. (tel. 602/954-9080), in the Safeway Shopping Center. Not far from the Heard Museum, there's Lux, 4404 N. Central Ave. (tel. 602/266-6469), which serves the best espresso in Phoenix, which isn't surprising when you learn that the owners started out in Seattle. This is also the hippest espresso bar in town, and right next door there's a great little bakery run by the owners of Pizzeria Bianco.

If ever there were a place where ice cream is a necessity, it is Arizona. In the desert heat, ice cream is a survival food, a means to cool off when the temperatures soar. When the heat gets to be too much for you, head to some of these great chill-out spots. Scottsdale's Sugar Bowl, 4005 N. Scottsdale Rd. (tel. 480/946-0051), in the heart of Old Town, is a long-time locals favorite that has been immortalized in "Family Circus" cartoons. If you find yourself dying from the heat as you motor through central Phoenix on a toasty afternoon, there's no better antidote than Mary Coyle, 5521 N. Seventh Ave. (tel. 602/265-0405), which makes its own ice cream and has been in business for more than 50 years. However, the absolute cream of the crop is the Phoenician resort's Café & Ice Cream Parlour, 6000 E. Camelback Rd. (tel. 480/941-8200). Not only can you cool off with house-made ice cream, but the pastries here are positively divine. To top it all off, you get to hang out at this posh resort for as long as you can make your ice cream last.